


Cover Me

by thesalukihusker



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-10
Updated: 2020-01-18
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:35:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22200400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesalukihusker/pseuds/thesalukihusker
Summary: He's going home.
Relationships: Jancy - Relationship, Jonathan Byers/Nancy Wheeler
Comments: 3
Kudos: 11





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A drabble about going back to one's home. Title is from Bruce Springsteen's 1984 hit of the same name, which is in this fic.

He wonders if Callahan or Powell will bother with a ticket when he crosses in to Hawkins.

Jonathan keeps his focus on the road, his foot pushing the accelerator to the floor as he approaches his former hometown. It's a five-hour drive from their new home in Ohio, and Jonathan couldn't make it fast enough.

The air conditioning in his old car doesn't work anymore, so he cranks the window all the way down. Jonathan sees the water tower, the ball fields, the Welcome to Hawkins sign he passed so many times. 

Hopper might pull him over, sass him for speeding and send him on his way. But Hopper isn't here. He's in Russia, or the Upside Down - at least that's what Joyce thinks.  _ He just disappeared in to thin air _ , she told Jonathan and Will. Since they moved last fall, all she's talked about is finding Hopper.  _ We have to find out where he is. He knows what happened. He knows what's coming. _

She's talking about going to Russia. Murray's been calling. Will's been distant. Nothing has been the same since they moved, and it all makes Jonathan's decision easier.

Jonathan loves his mom and brother, more than anything, but he doesn't want any part of this anymore. Last weekend was his high school graduation. Yesterday, he packed a few things, shed a few tears, and said his goodbyes. Nancy just graduated, too. She's headed to college in Chicago. He's joining her.

He turns up the car radio, smiles when he hears Springsteen singing about how Jonathan really feels.

_ Now promise me baby you won't let them find us _

_ Hold me in your arms, let's let our love blind us _

_ Cover me, shut the door and cover me _

_ I'm looking for a lover who will come on in and cover me _

Callahan is running radar at the edge of town, as usual. But he doesn't pull Jonathan over when he speeds past the welcome sign. Jonathan laughs and waves. Maple Street is in sight; he's almost home. Home is a person now.

His new life with Nancy awaits.

  
  



	2. Too Much

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At some point, it would all become a lot for Jonathan to handle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow-up to Cover Me, but also backstory. He has a decision to make.

The letter arrives in early March.

_ Dear Jonathan, _

_ Thank you for your interest in the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University.  _

He's waitlisted. The letter tells him about what's next, what his options are for financial aid. Jonathan barely reads the rest of it.

He's been accepted to Indiana. Purdue. Butler. All schools close to Hawkins. Close to Nancy. 

He last saw Nancy over Christmas break. They spent nearly every moment together during those four days. Jonathan told her he'd come to Hawkins during spring break. They'd go somewhere, just the two of them. 

For months, all he's thought about is getting away. Nothing good has come from their move, their "fresh start," as Joyce called it. Nothing has changed since they left Hawkins. His mom is more determined than ever to find Hopper. 

Murray calls all the time. He and Joyce discuss anything new he's learned, who they think might be involved, if realistically they could  _ go to Russia. _

Jonathan tells her to let it go.  _ We found Will. We got him back, twice. The lab is shut down. It's over.  _

_ He's out there somewhere,  _ Joyce says.  _ He needs our help. _

It's all become too much to handle, this fighting monsters from other dimensions, wondering if this time they'll all make it out alive. 

_ I'm sorry. But I don't want to be in the middle of this anymore. _

Jonathan feels a weight he's carried around since November of 1983 start to leave him. 

He goes to Hawkins the following week for spring break. Nancy's moving to Chicago after graduation, starting an internship and going to Northwestern. Jonathan tells her about NYU, about how he wonders if some things are meant to be. Nancy catches him up on the latest happenings since Christmas. They go to the lake. He helps Karen make dinner. She calls Jonathan her second son.

They drive past the Byers' old house. Jonathan wonders if anything weird has happened there since the new owners moved in. 

It doesn't feel like home anymore. But neither does their new home. It's only Nancy who gives him that feeling.

Jonathan goes home four days later, meets Joyce in the kitchen as she comes to greet him.

_ I'm moving to Chicago. _


End file.
